Unusual Gibson Pickups

[Tommorichards]

Hello there. I have looked everywhere for the specs for this pickup from the G3



ive even contacted gibson who say there were poor record keeping during the time they were made, and so know nothing about them. So seeing as how this particular sub-forum is full of pickup makers, i was wondering if you guys have any info on them, specifically resistance, number of windings, coil gauge and type of magnet.

They seem to be half the height of normal J's, which leads me to believe half the normal resistance as they were designed to be used only for series wiring. I want to have a go at duplicating them for fun, but dont really know.


Also, while browsing flyguitars, i came across the 60's EB pickup



And thought it looked interesting, so can anyone give me any details on it.


I have found it quite hard to get details on pickups that arent the 3 normal bass pickups (P, J, MM) so if any of you have any special links to back alley sites where stats are filed for unusual pickups, it would mean a lot to me as i have a thing for the unusual.

Thanks.

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

What the heck....?

David Schwab is a pretty good *ahem* archivist (he won't let me say pack rat anymore) of such data, so hopefully he has something to say, but I just had to post to say thanks for sharing those... that first one is unlike anything I've ever seen! What is that encased in? And, where is the magnet? I can't see anything in that picture. Perhaps that blade IS the magnet, in which case it would be some sort of alnico, but it is hard to tell from the picture.

The only hint I could offer is that it definitely is wound with solderable poly nylon wire, and looks like a fairly crude machine wind like the bobbin plate was off square or something. That and a few other things just screams mid-70s to me.

Don't let Gibson's lack of answers throw you... they are reliably clueless.

[Tommorichards]

Here is where i found out about them

The Gibson G3 Bass Guitar

They are dipped in a clear epoxy, and it does look like the blade maybe the magnet, however the metal plate on the underside could be too.

I wish there were more info on unusual pickups, i really do.

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

Ah, okay. I've seen Grabbers around, but never those.

I'm going to say the bar is the magnet. The metal plate you're seeing would be too small in pre-rare earth days. I'm also seeing that it is unpolished which would be another indication that it is alnico. I just didn't know if maybe something else was hiding in that epoxy that we're not seeing.

That is about all I can offer... though I'm more of a resident pest on the board than an expert. Do you have one on hand, or no? I was under the impression you took those first pictures yourself.

[Tommorichards]

I wish. Nah, i found them both on the flyguitars site. They do info on gibsons and epi's.

I didnt know there was a pre-rare earth magnet days.

[David King]

They molded a clear plastic bobbin and outer shell for these but screwed up the potting epoxy pour so they ended up with big bubbles. The coil height and internal magnet is so short that it must have needed the sheet metal "keeper" on the bottom to keep it from self-demagnetizing? It doesn't strike me as a fruitful design to recreate. I'd start with a normal 1/2" wide HB magnet for starters.

[Sweetfinger]

The Gibson EB "neck" pickup is a humbucking "sidewinder" design. There is a big center assembly that the screws thread into. The magnets are vertical and sandwiched in between the outer plates. That thin blade sticking out the side is what conducts the magnetic field into the center assembly.

[Mark Hammer]

That first one appears to be the functional equivalent of the pickup on the S1, their Strat-in-a-Paul's-clothing. The G3 was apparently the "companion" bass of the S1. If you can find out more about the pickups in the S1, you may have your answer. Given that they use a bar/slug, and didn't have to concern themselves with polepiece spacing, it may well be the exact same pickup on both the S1 and G3.

After a wee bit of digging, it seems as though these were designed by Bill Lawrence. Assuming his health is in good order, rumour has it the man is quite approachable. You might try there.

[Tommorichards]

Cool. Ill give that a go.

[David Schwab]

Bill Lawrence did design those pickups, and the basses (and guitars) that they went into. He did the L6-S, S1, G3, Marauder, Ripper, and Grabber.

I don't know the specs, but the bar is a magnet, and the steel plate under it is probably to boost the lows and output. The Burns Tri-Sonics also had a steel plate on the bottom, but used ceramic magnets.

The EB-0 pickup is a sidewinder, and was wound with a butt-load of wire to make it very dark sounding.

[MyCause]

I'm rebuilding a G3 and need exactly the pickup shown (03-101 / white, orange, and black wire).

Anybody have a spare they'd be willing to unload?
Thanks,
Mike Hahs

[Possum]

Yeah the clear ones are Bill Lawrence design, they used 3 of those on the Gibson S3 which used a Marauder body, they were terrible pickups, real weak, the Marauder pickups weren't much better. It was ok if you always used a pedal but without one they are pretty much what killed those guitars. Gibson signed Kiss to endorse Marauders and Kiss hated them and pretty much destroyed them at their shows, Gibson gave them more and they kept bashing them to pieces as stage props I read. I used to love the Marauders and had collected four of them including a Custom which they only made 250, also had an S3 but never played it at a gig. Marauders are great playing guitars and pretty cheap for what they are, have a flying V type neck. I kind of wish I had kept one and custom made pickups for it. Here's a beauty, I had one of these, note the clear bodied pickups:
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
Looks like they are going up in price, if they sell at all.
Vintage 1976 Gibson S-1 Solid Body Electric Guitar WOW Free US shipping! | eBay
You can find those pickups on Ebay fairly often....

[David Schwab]

I'm rebuilding a G3 and need exactly the pickup shown (03-101 / white, orange, and black wire).
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18136[/ATTACH]
Anybody have a spare they'd be willing to unload?
Thanks,
Mike Hahs

Check here from time to time:

Guitar Parts, Switches items in Greatdealz1967 store on eBay!

Sometimes she has them.

[MyCause]

Thanks! I contacted them last night about a black one they are offering. They are checking their stock to see if they ave a clear one.

Another aspect of this rebuild are the pots. The bass came to me with A-B ModPots and I had assumed that they were someone's science project. But, is it possible that these were original?

[David Schwab]

I doubt the Allen-Bradley pots were stock. Those and Bourns were popular upgrades back in the day.